Vogue May 2008

"Most musicians have a moment when they feel like they're arrived," says the second-generation rock star Jakob Dylan. "They see a story in a magazine or hear their song on the radio. but I felt largely the same way after the band got famous as I did when Iwas growing up," He adds. "I guess I never felt that anonymous anyhow."

It's an unlikely response to worldwide success - The Wallflowers' 1996 album bringing Down the Horse went platinum several times over - but then Dylan's unusual upbringing as the son of Bob Dylan(with ex-wife Sara) seems to have predisposed him to a different kind of pop stardom. At the height of his career as an MTV hearthrob, he was already a happily married father (his wife Paige, is a former actress); now 38, the longtime L.A. resident has managed to avoid a life of rock-n-roll cliche, choosing instead a very low-key existence in which most of the excitement is derived from being a Dad to their four boys, ages six months to thirteen years (all of whom, he says, are "musically inclined"). "As you acquire more responsibilities in your life," he explains, "music has to be a passion, something you just need to do. Otherwise, there are a lot of exit signs along the way."

In June, the singer temporarily switches direction, making his solo debut with the release of Seeing Things, an intimate, almost entirely acoustic album recorded in the Hollywood Hills home of the renowed producer Rick Rubin. Songs like "All Day and All Night" and "Something Good This Way Comes" are more streamlined than his band's signature layered sound, but Dylan hopes that the lack of studio-generated "smoke and mirrors" will allow his songwriting to shine through. "This kind of record is something I've wanted to do for a long time, " he says. It's also the kind of record his father is known for and in fact Jakob seems to be channeling that legacy when he talks about his new work: "I really wanted the songs to feel like they've been here for ages, like there were cut from stone," he says. "And I'd like to think they'll be here after I'm gone."

- Lauren Waterman